Promises
by Bethyl.Please
Summary: Set after the prison.. Beth and Daryl found a house, now they're setting off to find the others in a old chevy pick up truck. They each make promises to each other, but can they keep them all? BETHYL
1. I'm ready to go

"You ready to go, cus' if ya don't wanna… I don't mind stayin for a while.." Daryl mumbled. Beth slowly raised herself to her tippy-toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek "I'm ready to go, promise." He had wanted Beth to stay no, then they could live in the house together, he wanted to find Rick and the others, but it wasn't worth losing Beth for.

This house had been a God send for them, there was gas for cooking and heating and it was all boarded up safe. It reminded Beth of the farm, she only wished that Maggie was here to share it with them.

She shuffled awkwardly around Daryl and went into the hall to lace up her boots while he stood leaning against the kitchen top watching her. He always found himself just stopping and staring at her. God he loved this woman with all of his heart, how could she be so perfect and sweet in a world like this? She made him realise that there are still good people, because she's still here.

"what is it?" Beth asked, noticing Daryl in deep thought.

He shook his head "nothin, let's get goin" as much as he loved Beth, he couldn't bring himself to tell her that, he didn't want to jinx it.

They hauled their backpacks onto their shoulders, gave each other a nod and shut the door to their perfect house. Before all this happened, Beth would have dreamed of living in a house like this with a family of her own, but she gave up on that dream and realised that she had her new family now and had to find them. Maybe they would come back here one day with the group, if- no _when_ they find them. They followed the dusty pathway out to one of the chevvy's Daryl managed to fix up and climbed into it.

They didn't know where they were going or what there were going to do, but in that beaten up old truck, with the windows rolled down and Beth's hair blowing in the warm summer wind, Daryl realised that he had everything he really wanted right here.


	2. Beth, It's not you

"Beth, It's Not You"

He had been so relived after the prison fell when he saw her blonde hair bobbing through the thick trees, but now he was worried about how she was acting, she was _distant_, not like Beth he knew. She was the flame in the darkness for Daryl, she pulled him back from the edge. When they were at the house together they were both lost by the loss of the prison and Hershel, they supported each other, Daryl kept them safe and Beth kept them strong.

Beth and Daryl had been on the road for days now, they would take it in turns as the other slept, although Daryl always insisted that he was okay to go on. The days were long and the nights are longer, Daryl would often be driving and hear Beth silently sobbing into her shirt. There had been a strange and suspicious absence of walkers recently and it was worrying Daryl. He was constantly on edge, always keeping Beth close and never doing anything that would get them noticed.

The sun was beginning to set as they were driving through a small neighbourhood. The sky was orange and pink, Beth loved those evenings and she hadn't noticed them in so long. Daryl slowly parked up in front of a small bungalow and Beth looked at him with , "Come on Doll, your tired. Let's stop here for tonight. Maybe get some food and water. We'll find them tomorrow" He saw the disappointment on Beth's face. All she wanted to do is find her family again and then they could find somewhere for them all to live in again like the prison. To be honest, she wanted to stay at the house fro longer, she was so exhausted and her ankle was hurting, but she had to look out for Daryl or he'd shut her off and then she'd have no one. Even thinking about the prison made Beth feel sick, watching her daddy die so brutally, right in front of her, it nearly killed her. Of course, she couldn't tell Daryl what she was thinking, he wasn't exactly the best person to talk to.

"Okay, but we'll search the train tracks tomorrow, yeah?" she replied, pulling her bag out from the back seat.

"Sure" Daryl mumbled, climbing out of the truck, "Stay by me" snaking a hand around her waist.

Kicking in the door, he held his crossbow up to his face, Beth shadowed behind him, shining her torch into the dark hallway. Quiet moans cried out from down the hall. Beth instinctively held onto Daryl's manly arm. Suddenly a crash echoed through the house, the moans got louder and louder until it stumbled out in front of Daryl. Beth let out a gasp as an arrow exploded through it's face. The silence that followed was eery and unexpected, they looked to each other, breathing heavily, and gave each other a nod to show that they're both okay.

They set up a camp in the living room made of sleeping bags and pillows, with candles Beth found softly lighting the room. Daryl thought to himself how beautiful she looked in the warm light, her angelic blonde hair softly curled around her face, her bright crystal blue eyes and her perfect pink lips. He smiled to himself. "what is it" Beth laughed, waking Daryl from his trance,

"nothin' jus' get some sleep" _damn it. _He didn't mean to snap at her, he'd done it again, he'd found himself staring at her and he freaked, tried to run and hide. He turned over onto his side and heard her shuffling around, god he hated himself sometimes. Beth reached over and placed a hand on Daryl's shoulder, "Please don't shut me out, please, I don't want to be alone again."

He quietly whispered back, "Beth, It's not you, I promise", she was tired of being shut out all the time so she curled back into her duvet and closed her eyes.


	3. We're not going to hurt you

"We're not going to hurt you"

As Daryl woke, he saw that the moonlight was streaming through the narrow slits in the window boards. "Beth?" Daryl mumbled, rubbing his face. When he had no reply from her, he sat up and saw her empty sleeping bag in a pile on the grey carpet.

Fear struck Daryl like a knife to the heart as his brain started to whizz full of awful things that could have happened to Beth. He jumped out of his sleeping bag and whispered her name. Nothing. He ran through the house with his crossbow up ready, when he had no luck in finding her inside, he frantically ran to the truck.

The windows were blocked by blankets that weren't there last time he checked. Upon unlocking the door, a figure launched at him with a knife held desperately above their head. Daryl caught their slim wrist in his hand. "Beth, Beth it's me, stop." she kept writhing under his strong hold. "Daryl?" a voice called out behind him, Beth stood in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket "what are you doing?" If Beth was here, then who was this person he had a hold of? He released the person's hand and stepped a few paces back, Beth ran to his side. The moonlight gave a small amount of light to see that their intruder was a small girl.

She cautiously stepped out of the truck and stared at them. "I'm sorry, please don't hurt me, my sister disappeared and I needed to stay somewhere." Beth let go of her hold on Daryl's arm and she slowly stepped towards the girl. "It's okay sweetie, I promise we're not going to hurt you, come here" She kneeled down to the girls height held out her arms for a hug. "Don't worry" The girl reached out, wrapped her arms around Beth's neck and began to sob lightly into her. "sshh… It's okay sweetie, we'll find your sister, I've lost mine too." A single tear rolled down Beth's check as she thought about Maggie. _I wonder if Maggie's looking for me too. _She held the girls shoulders and looked into her eyes, "We will find her, okay, you're going to be fine with us, I'm Beth, and thats's Daryl" and brushed a tear off of the girl's cold, damp face. Daryl smiled at Beth's warm nature and thought about in the prison when she had hugged him.

When he had stopped daydreaming, Daryl saw Beth walking up to him, holding the girl's tiny hand. "Daryl, this is Poppy" The little girl looked up at him with a smile, even though her cheeks were still damp and her eyes were still slightly red. "Hello Poppy"


	4. Never going to let anything bad happen

"I'm never going to let anything bad happen to you"

After five days on the road with Poppy, the trio were beginning to feel like the hunt for Poppy's sister was impossible. She said that they had gotten separated by a herd, but by now she could be anywhere. They started to head south to Cordele, because that was where she lived before the turn.

Beth and Daryl managed to get the radio in the truck working, which made the journeys much happier and feel shorter. There was just one tape in the chevy, an old Cat Steven tape, Daryl had known the album from before. Merle would play it whenever he was home and it always reminded him of the few good times he had in his childhood. To see Beth singing along with that beautiful soft voice and Poppy smiling so brightly even though everything in their lives were falling apart around them, it made him feel like everything was going to be okay.

"Oh baby baby its a wild world, its hard to get by just upon a smile.." They all sang loudly as they sped down the open highway. Beth laughed to herself and gave Daryl a nudge with her elbow "Didn't realise you were the singing type, Dixon" Poppy gave out a high pitched giggle from the back seat that made Daryl sing even louder "And i'll always remember you like a child, girl.."

Poppy's hair tickled Daryl's nose as her chest slowly raised and fell against his arms that were wrapped around her small body while she slept. He watched as Beth drove along, her fingers tapping on the steering wheel as she quietly hummed along to Father and Son. The moonlight was bright that night, reflecting on her soft skin and lighting up her crystal blue eyes. Daryl looked out of the window and up at the stars, "Hey Bethy, do you think that Poppy's sister is still out there?" He saw the hurt in her eyes and the way that she dropped her gaze a little. She said turning to look at him, "We have to keep the hope alive for her, we have to keep her safe." reaching out to gently brush Poppy's hair behind her ear.

_"__Darylina run you motherfucker! Get Sophie and run!" The flames grew higher and higher around him, the tiny baby in his arms started to scream and cry, he wrapped her up in her pale pink blanket and held her to his chest as he ran out of the doorway and to the blinding light of red and blue flashes. Suddenly Sophie was pulled from his arms and taken into an ambulance. Daryl's mom collapsed to the floor and screamed "It's your fault Daryl Dixon! You killed your baby sister! You did this to her!"_

Daryl jumped awake, sweating and breathing heavily, Beth was gently holding his arm, "Daryl, are you okay?" He swallowed and mumbled grumpily "Yeah fine" Poppy had shuffled in sleep and her small arms were wrapped around his arm, he smiled when he saw her so peaceful. He brushed her brown hair out of her eyes and whispered into her ear "I'm never going to let anything bad happen to you Poppy, I promise" and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. He looked up to see Beth smiling at him and he shuffled higher into his seat, "Want me to drive?"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**Sorry it's been so long since an update but it's been summer holidays and ****I've been finding it hard to get inspiration so I had a break... Please review because it makes me want to write! (Any ideas for where it could go would be appreciated to!) Hope you like this chapter! 3**


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